Benoni 7.h3 with no e4[A61]-TWIC 976

TWIC 976
The Modern Benoni is now a very popular defence. GM Flores Rios achieves nothing but a complex equal position with the 7.h3/e3 variation and eventually prevails in long maneuvering struggle. The result was not related to the opening so the Benoni remains secure.

More About Barcelona ESP



Flores Rios,M (2492) - Dvirnyy,D (2549)
Benoni 7.h3 with no e4[A61]
XV Sant Marti Open A
Barcelona ESP (6.2), 18.07.2013

Position 1
Black sacrificed a pawn for enough compensation early in the middlegame but white kept maneuvering and is now on the verge of consolidating. What do you recommend for white now?

White to Play

43...Qa6

Benoni g3 11.h3 a6 12.a4 Rb8 13.Nc4 Nb6 [A62]-TWIC 942

More on GM Swiercz,D(POL)
Swiercz,D won the feature game. Here is a bit more on the grandmaster.



More on Lublin,Poland



TWIC 942
GM Swiercz squeezed the whole board for a nice positional victory with the topical g3 Benoni.

Swiercz,D (2585) - Kryvoruchko,Y (2676) 
Benoni g3 9…Re8 10.Nd2 Nbd7 11.h3 a6 12.a4 Rb8 13.Nc4 Nb6 [A62]
4th GM POL-UKR Match Lublin POL (4), 27.05.2012

Position 1
White has taken over the board and has a large space advantage. What do you recommend for white now?

White to Play

37..Reh8

Benoni g3[A64]-TWIC 943

Chennai,India
The feature game was played in the ch-Commonwealth 2012 held in Chennai. Here's a closer look at the city.




From a taxi/bike




TWIC 943
Narayanan made a standard pawn sacrifice to lure black's queen to the queenside and then won with a kingside attack.

Narayanan,SL (2350) - Oleksienko,M (2551)
Benoni g3[A64]
ch-Commonwealth 2012 Chennai IND (9), 29.11.2012

Position 1
White has a piece for two pawns and wants to attack on the kingside. What do you recommend for white?

White to Play

26...Kxf8

Benoni Taimanov 8…Nbd7 9.e5[A67]-TWIC 905

Benoni Taimanov-Key Kasparov Game
This key game put the Taimanov variation on the map.



Benoni Taimanov 8…Nbd7 9.e5
The 8..Nbd7 invites a massive attack but still has not been refuted. After 19...Rfe8(diagram) white is at a major branch. This is the starting point for a deep Benoni theory debate.

19...Rhe8

TWIC 905
GM Kuljasevic chose 20.Bf4 which is good enough for equality but in the game had to come back from a lost position. The game was played in rd9 of the Zagreb Open 2012.

Here is the feature game.

Kuljasevic,D (2580) - Cebalo,M (2442)

Benoni Taimanov 8…Nbd7 9.e5[A67]

Zagreb Open A Zagreb CRO (9.7), 12.03.2012

Position 1
The Nh3 is hanging but white is on the move. What do you recommend for white?

White to Play

25...Kf8

Benoni 7.f4 Bg7 8.Bb5+ Nfd7 9.Nf3 [A67]-TWIC 965

The Benoni-Introduction




TWIC 965
The feature game is from round 9 of 4NCL play.

GM Rowson used the aggressive Taimanov variation in an attempt to wipe black from the board. The latest trend is 9.Nf3 allowing black to expand on the queenside and then a later a3 to restrain the queenside when needed.

Here is the feature game.

Rowson,J (2586) - Van de Griendt,JW (2323)
Benoni 7.f4 Bg7 8.Bb5+ Nfd7 9.Nf3 [A67]
4NCL 2012–13 Hinckley ENG (9.114), 04.05.2013

Position 1

The position is sharp and complex. Black just took a pawn with 31...gf. What do you recommend for white.

• 32.Qxc3(removing black's hopes for counterplay)
• 32.Qxf5(banking everything on the attack)
• Something else

White to Play

31...gf

Benoni 7.Bf4 a6 [A61]-TWIC 756

TWIC 956
The Benoni is a hot opening now. I just lost a tough team game to this opening and it's time to admit that my knowledge needs a serious upgrade. I have used the sharp 7.Bf4 line which is now quite topical.

The Modern Benoni by Petrov(Quality Chess 2013)

See NIC The Modern Benoni

One way black can play is to launch an immediate kingside attack by pushing the f-pawn. The following position can arise. 

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.Bf4 a6 8.a4 Bg7 9.h3 0–0 10.e3 Nh5 11.Bh2 f5 12.Be2(diagram)

12.Be2

Now it is necessary to know what happens on 12...f4. This was the move played in the feature game.

Postny,E (2622) - Djurovic,G (2406)
Benoni 7.Bf4 a6 [A61]
Zagreb Open A 2013 CRO (5.3), 01.03.2013

Position 1
The ending is a technical win with the doubled h-pawns and good knight vs. bad bishop. What should white do now?

White to Play

28..Kxg8

Recap
Black's kingside attack turns out to be a big bluff. White can safely castle kingside and weather the not so ferocious storm.